Kelly Rutherford admitted she felt like her ‘heart had been ripped out’ during her ugly $2million international custody battle with her ex Daniel Giersch.
The Hollywood actress, shares two children, son Hermes, 17, and daughter Helena, 15, with German businessman ex Daniel, 50.
Kelly has now opened up about ‘learning from making mistakes’ and revealed she was thankful to be filming hit show Gossip Girl at the time, where she portrayed Lily van der Woodsen.
Speaking to Gwyneth Paltrow, 53, on her Goop podcast, she admitted the TV series, starring Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, was a ‘good distraction’ and ‘everyone was so supportive’ on set.
Gwyneth asked, ‘The custody battle that was in the news, as a mother you feel like you’ve had your heart ripped out, how did you keep your perspective?’
‘Yeah for sure that is exactly how it feels,’ Kelly replied.
Kelly Rutherford admitted she felt like her ‘heart had been ripped out’ during her ugly $2million international custody battle with her ex Daniel Giersch
The Hollywood actress, shares two children, son Hermes, 17, and daughter Helena, 15, with German businessman ex Daniel, 50 (pictured Kelly and Daniel in 2006)
She continued: ‘I don’t think I always did but like anything it is a challenge that you aren’t prepared for and you learn along the way and make mistakes and you get up and do your best. Its a process like most things it’s focus.’
Gwyneth added: ‘How did you get through being away from your children on set, how would you get through the day?’
‘I was so thankful to be on set because it was a good distraction otherwise I don’t know what I would have done but it was a blessing in a way because I had to focus and show up.
‘It doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life but everyone was so supportive I was thankful and dealt with it day by day and you learn a lot about yourself.’
Elsewhere during the half an hour interview, Kelly revealed how she keeps the love between herself and her children.
She said: ‘Staying focus like with my kids I apolosied to them for me being a mess and I was like I’m showing up even though I’m a mess and they know I’m human and I’m not a robot and hopefully it helps them to deal with things
‘They can go well this is how my parents navigate the world. They learn from us from the good and the bad and I think you’ve got to show up and repair because we are all learning.’
Kelly has been living in Monaco to be closer to her kids after a lengthy custody battle with her ex Daniel.
Kelly has now opened up about ‘learning from making mistakes’ and revealed she was thankful to be filming hit show Gossip Girl at the time, where she portrayed Lily van der Woodsen
Speaking to Gwyneth Paltrow (pictured), 53, on her Goop podcast, she admitted the TV series was a ‘good distraction’ and ‘everyone was so supportive’ on set
She wed Daniel in 2006 and they split in 2009.
Kelly was granted joint custody of their children by a judge in Monaco. Hermés was two years old at the time and the star was pregnant with Helena.
Things got hard when the judge said the kids would have to live full-time with David in Monaco because his work visa got revoked, keeping him from returning to the United States.
The judge told Kelly that she would have to move to Monaco or make frequent visits in order to see her two children.
The actress spent nearly $2 million in legal fees, it was claimed. Then she had to declare bankruptcy so she could continue to pay to fight for full custody of her kids.
It was a six-year legal battle.
When she didn’t send her kids back to Monaco following a six-week visit she was accused of abduction.
Kelly made a very rare sighting with her 17-year-old son Hermes earlier this week which is the first time she has posed with the boy in public in over 10 years.
The two were side by side at two tony Parisian fashion events as they smiled for the cameras.
They attended both the Chanel show and the Rahul Mishra event as part of Paris Fashion Week 2025 in France.